Aircraft catches fire after landing in Denver, sending passengers onto wing as smoke engulfs plane

DENVER — A fire on an American Airlines plane after it diverted mid-flight and landed at Denver International Airport sent passengers fleeing onto a wing in a fraught evacuation amid billowing clouds of smoke. Airport officials said 12 people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries.

The country has seen a recent spate of aviation disasters and close calls stoking fears about air travel, though flying remains a very safe mode of transport. Recent on-the-ground incidents have included a plane that crashed and flipped over upon landing in Toronto and a Japan Airlines plane that clipped a parked Delta plane while it was taxiing at the Seattle airport.

In this latest incident, Flight 1006 was headed from the Colorado Springs Airport to Dallas Fort Worth on Thursday, but diverted to Denver and landed safely around 5:15 p.m. after the crew reported engine vibrations, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. While taxiing to the gate, an engine on the Boeing 737-800 caught fire, the FAA added.

Photos and videos posted by news outlets showed passengers exiting the plane onto its left wing as an engine on the right wing burned and black smoke surrounded the aircraft. They lined up and got to the ground using slides and ladders brought over by groundcrews, according to the FAA, videos and passenger interviews.

American said in a statement that the flight experienced an engine-related issue after taxiing to the gate. There was no immediate clarification on exactly when the plane caught fire.

All 172 passengers and six crew members were safely evacuated from the plane, authorities and airport officials said. American Airlines referred questions about the 12 people taken to hospitals to local officials. Ten people were taken to the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora but spokesperson Kelli Christensen said she did not have an update on how many were there Friday.

A replacement plane and crew took passengers to Dallas-Fort Worth, the airline said. The flight landed Friday around 5 a.m. local time, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware.

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